


If You Could Only Know

by kaijuvenom



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Angst, Geordi's accidentally imagined Data Clone, I'm not sure how to tag Geordi's accidentally imagined Data Clone so I will tag it as:, M/M, Nonbinary (they/them) Data, Oops, Other, a not satisfying ending, inspired by that one DS9 episode, oops x2, where Bashir accidentally imagines a clingy Dax who follows him around
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:07:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24882055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaijuvenom/pseuds/kaijuvenom
Summary: Geordi wakes up from a very pleasant dream to find that dream has somehow manifested in his real life. Data doesn't understand why it's such a big deal, and Geordi doesn't have the courage to tell them.
Relationships: Data/Geordi La Forge
Comments: 3
Kudos: 38





	If You Could Only Know

**Author's Note:**

> well slap my ass and call me 1929 because I am in a great depression
> 
> also i wrote this in like an hour and a half and straight vibed sorry i didnt make a happy ending but rest assured they got together eventually if that makes u feel any better skdnfdkjbdjsfhjs

_If you could only know how many times each day I picture in my mind the look upon your face when you begin to laugh, or how your eyes look sad, the softness of your hair, the beauty of your soul, and whatever I am, you are the other half._

Geordi tended to have noticeably life-like dreams. It wasn’t unusual for his dreams to be hyper-realistic and leave him wondering if they actually happened when he woke up, but never had he dreamed something so real it bled into his reality when he woke up. Until today.

He had been having a pleasant dream, one in which an exceedingly attractive android who shall remain nameless was on top of him, pressing kisses to his face, trailing hands through his hair, so close to him that Geordi could feel their pulse against his chest.

This type of dream was also not unusual for Geordi, and certainly not unwelcome. He had thoughts like this on the daily, he’d been having them for years, and sure, maybe the first time he’d had a hyper-realistic dream about his best friend making out with him, he’d felt a little weird about it. But they were just dreams, Geordi would never act on those feelings, not when he knew for a fact those feelings couldn’t be reciprocated. 

Normally, when he began to gain consciousness from one of his realistic dreams, it would fade in its authenticity and the feelings would slink back into the appropriate corner of his mind. This time, it didn’t, not even when Geordi blinked his eyes open and stretched. It took him a minute to realize the phantom feeling of someone above him wasn’t phantom, that they were actually there. 

He yelled, pushing the arms away as he sat up, scrambling for his visor on his nightstand and fumbling with it for a second before he managed to snap it into place. The first thing he noticed was that he was still in his quarters, on his bed, and that he had free movement of all his limbs. He hadn’t been kidnapped, thank god. The second thing he noticed was...

“Data?” He was breathing heavily, shock washing over him as he attempted to establish what was going on.

“Hello, Geordi,” Data said, in a tone that Geordi had never heard them use before. It was quiet and almost breathless, and before Geordi could even establish what was happening, Data’s hands were on him again, and they were so close to him, staring into his eyes with a look that was akin to adoration. 

“Woah, woah, woah- Data, hold on, what’s happening?” Geordi pushed the hands away, still trying to get a grip on himself. He was definitely not awake enough for this. “What are you doing here?”

“I am spending time with you,” Data said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. 

Geordi sat up, turning and planting his feet firmly on the floor, as if that would ground him. Data ran their hands across his shoulders, down his back, and he couldn’t help the involuntary shudder of pleasure that ran through his body.

“Is something wrong?” Data asked, and their voice was a whisper directly in Geordi’s ear. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. 

“Um. Yes, yes I think so. I think something is definitely wrong. Did uh- did someone flip a switch in you or something?” He asked, standing up, pushing Data’s arms off him once more and turning around to face them. “Did Doctor Crusher find your sexuality program or something, is that what this is? They’re all playing some kind of prank on me?” Even as Geordi said it, that didn’t feel right. He found it hard, if not impossible, to believe any one of Geordi’s coworkers would mess with Data’s programming without their consent. But then again, perhaps they had given consent, if Data had been convinced it would be funny. They never could grasp the concept of humor. 

“This is not a joke, Geordi,” Data said, tilting their head in that adorable way they did. 

“Maybe I’m sick, then, I’m hallucinating, or- or, let me check your circuits, make sure everything’s okay, you seem to be mal-malfunctioning s-some-somehow.” The reason for Geordi’s stuttering was that Data had stood up, backing Geordi against the wall, pressing kisses to his face, just like they had been in his dream, and Geordi couldn’t find it in himself to object. But he also wasn't able to reciprocate the touches. Something felt off, and he couldn’t figure out what exactly it was.

“Why are you fighting this?” Data asked, another soft whisper in his ear that made his legs want to give out from underneath him, and that probably would have happened had Data not been holding him up. 

“Why-” The question made Geordi take pause, think for a second about what he was doing, and he swallowed, wondering why he was fighting this. He’d spent so long compartmentalizing his feelings for Data that this automatically felt wrong on so many levels. That old guilt he’d felt the first couple of times he’d dreamed about being in bed with Data was sinking in again.

“I- I don’t know,” he finally said, and he figured out how to use his arms again, wrapping them around Data and pulling them close. “Why am I fighting this?” It was all he’d ever wanted, after all, and yes, it seemed a little odd, incredibly unexpected, but if Data’s sexuality programming had been activated somehow, who was Geordi to deny them of what they so clearly wanted, especially when he wanted it just as much?

He leaned forward and kissed Data properly, his head spinning with all of the feelings, guilt and pleasure and excitement all blending together in his mind. 

He gasped quietly, breaking the kiss to breathe, suddenly wishing very hard he was an android who didn’t require breathing air to live, because he would like to kiss Data for eternity. They kissed again, Geordi stepping forward, planning to move back onto his bed, when his combadge beeped and Captain Picard’s voice interrupted him. 

“All senior officers, report to the bridge.”

Geordi groaned, pulling away from Data’s arms, despite Data’s very adorable pout at the loss of contact. 

“C’mon,” he muttered, and Data clung to him like a spider monkey as he made his way out of his quarters and to the turbolift. Once inside and standing still, Data resumed their apparent goal of kissing every square millimeter of Geordi’s face. They were now taking Geordi’s earlobe into their mouth, sucking on it gently, and Geordi felt like he was about to crumble into pieces, and he found it nearly impossible to pull away. 

“Data, not now, can you- um-“ How Data’s sexuality programming had been activated (Geordi was sure that was what it was, it couldn’t be anything else), he wasn’t sure, but something must’ve been switched on by accident or something. “Can’t you- switch it off for now, or something? And we can- we can get back to this later?” 

Data either did not hear, was choosing not to listen, or had no idea how to turn this particular program off, because all they were doing was pouting at him now, clinging to his arm tightly. 

The turbolift doors opened and the first thing Geordi noticed was the fact that it was snowing on the bridge. That fact was not, however, shocking enough for him to not notice something else, or rather, someone else, that someone else being... Data. Geordi looked from that Data, who was standing on the bridge in their normal Data manner, to the other Data, who was clinging to him and looking at him with a face of absolute longing that was very un-Data-like. This was shocking enough that Geordi almost didn’t notice the third thing, that everyone in the bridge was silently staring at him. 

“Um,” he said intelligently, rubbing the back of his neck and gently prying the other Data, who he’d decided was most definitely Not Data, off of himself. “What- uh- what the hell is going on?” 

There was silence for a second, before Riker spoke up (thank god, Geordi had been afraid he’d have to explain to everyone why Not-Data was trying to kiss him). 

“It seems that everything we imagine is made real, Doctor Crusher was just talking about how she wished she’d been able to go back to Earth to see the snow last winter, and, well...” he gestured around them, where the bridge was slowly turning into a winter wonderland. “And Worf was apparently thinking about the Targ he had as a kid,” Riker said, gesturing to Worf, who was in fact kneeling on the ground and petting a rather terrifying, large lizard-dog almost lovingly.

“Uh-huh,” Geordi said, nodding, the embarrassment he was feeling mounting to an almost intolerable amount. 

“Geordi, I would like to go back to your quarters,” Not-Data said, tugging on his arm lightly. Geordi shook them off, stepping away. 

“Not now, I don’t have time for this,” he said, wishing Not-Data would just go away so he wouldn’t have to worry about the embarrassment and guilt he was feeling. Especially considering the real Data was staring at him curiously. 

On cue, Not-Data popped out of existence, and despite Geordi’s outward sigh of relief, there was a little part of him that already missed having a needy android following him around. 

_But you would not take the chance to alter suns and moons and give your heart away._

Geordi and Data were in Engineering, attempting to solve the problem together, and it was awkward. At least, it was for Geordi. He wasn’t sure if Data could feel awkwardness. 

After what seemed like hours, though realistically, it was probably only twenty minutes at most, Geordi cleared his throat and turned to Data. 

“Data,” he began, chewing on the inside of his cheek. “I want to apologize for- for earlier, I want you to know that I’d never- invade your privacy like that, or-”

“Geordi, there is no need for apologies, I cannot feel offense, nor do I have any capacity for embarrassment. Even if I did, I would not care to blame you for something private unintentionally becoming known to me in this way.”

Data’s calm and logical response actually made Geordi feel a little better, and he gave Data a small smile, opening his mouth to thank them for the reassurance. 

“It is my understanding that many humanoid species have dreams of a similar nature regarding their friends, despite having only platonic feelings towards them.”

Geordi closed his mouth again, looking away. “That is… true,” he said slowly, wondering what he was supposed to do now. “But, um-” He thought back to when he’d been in his quarters with Not-Data, kissing them and feeling fully content. His feelings definitely weren’t exclusively platonic, he knew that for sure. 

“Yes?” Data prompted, and Geordi shrugged it off, shaking his head. He didn’t know how to articulate what he wanted to say, didn’t know what to do in order to make Data understand, so he didn’t say anything about it. 

“Never mind, it isn’t important.”

_If you could only know how precious you’ve become, how all that I create, you inspire. But if you never know, the chance will pass us by, and love will never be._

**Author's Note:**

> [twitter](https://twitter.com/kaijuvenom)   
>  [tumblr](https://kaijuvenom.tumblr.com/)
> 
> if you leave a comment and u refer to Data by the wrong pronouns i'll eat ur fookin kneecaps mAte


End file.
